


the quiet world

by briennefeelings



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Poetry, One Shot, idk what to tag this as AHHH, sort of an au?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 08:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20150542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/briennefeelings/pseuds/briennefeelings
Summary: a new westerosi law has ruled that each person can only speak one hundred and sixty-seven words per day.





	the quiet world

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by the poem, "the quiet world," by jeffrey mcdaniels! 
> 
> also this is my first time posting here so if ur reading this, thank u so much!!

in an attempt to take away the distrust that hangs over kingslanding, a new westerosi law has ruled that each person can only speak one hundred and sixty-seven words per day.

jaime does not adjust to this law so well.

he rations out his words when business calls for it, sparing no more than fifty to discuss war strategies and creating armies. the rest spill out of him before he gets the chance to take them back. he argues with tywin. pleads with cersei. hears people in court whispering “kingslayer” behind his back as if he didn’t notice, and he snaps. he knows he shouldn’t have. he realises the cost of his bitterness only after he’d spoken and by then it’s already too late.

by the end of the day he had wasted too many of his words. jaime wishes he could have more, much more, he wishes this everyday. he sits by the window, beneath the moon, hoping its light will tell him which words should be his last for the day. he considers what to say for awhile, but his mind is rendered silent when brienne enters the room without warning.

“my lady” stumbles out of his mouth with the same clumsiness as his body as it rises from his seat. he swings his hand from his side to his lips, as if trying to put the two words back into his mouth. brienne simply smiles at him.

brienne, who had long ago mastered the art of embracing silence, has enough words left to ask, “how many?” jaime swallows, shuffling his feet, and lifts three fingers. he is always apologetic, but brienne is always forgiving.

she takes a step forward, holding his hand with one of hers and caressing his cheek with the other. “you don’t have to save them for me,” she says. “being with you is enough.” jaime seizes the opportunity, welcomes the warmth of her skin against his.

the moonlight picks up the blue of her eyes and they're beautiful. if he had enough words left he would tilt his head up to the sky and say thank you. instead, he accepts the blessing that is her gaze. beneath her eyes, jaime feels the thorns falling off of his tongue, and the sword in his spine is replaced with a column of water. in these moments, where the world dissipates and only jaime and brienne exist, he realises that no words could do justice to how he feels. it’s these moments where he realises that of all one hundred and sixty-seven words in a day, he only truly cares about three of them.

he says the three words loud enough that they vibrate off the walls, hoping they echo in the room the same way they’ve echoed in his ribcage for years. brienne has heard these words countless times, but she’s still taken back everytime she hears them. jaime is beaming with pride. his last words were the right ones.

“i love you, too,” brienne says. “i love you,” she whispers again, before he tiptoes to meet her lips and kiss her. “i love you,” she sighs between each kiss, over and over until brienne has one word left.

“jaime,” she whispers, and the sound dances around his heart long after they’ve gone to bed. he thinks about it as he watches her sleeping on his chest.

jaime decides that her name will be the first thing he says in the morning. he sleeps peacefully that night, dreaming of her, and he is happy.


End file.
